Automatic ice cube maker



Aug. 17, 1965 E. H. FROHBIETER 3,200,612

AUTOMATIC ICE CUBE MAKER Original Filed June 12. 1961 3 Sheets-She t 1 w q M eML aver/way;

1965 E. H. FROHBIETER 3,200,612

AUTOMATIC 10E CUBE MAKER Original Filed June 12, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 17, 1965 E. H. FROHBIETER AUTOMATIC ICE CUBE MAKER Original Filed June 12, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,200,612 AUTOMATIG ICE CUBE MAKER Edwin H. Frohbieter, Evansville, Ind, assiguor to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application June 12, 1961, Ser. No. 116,491, new

Patent No. 3,143,866. Divided and this application Feb. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 261,011

1 Claim. (Cl. 62-345) This invention relates to ice makers and in particular to ice makers for use in refrigerators.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 116,491, filed June 12, 1961, now U.S. Patent No. 3,143,866.

In my copending application Serial No. 45,750, filed July 27, 1960, an improved ice body maker is disclosed wherein a mold is selectively positioned in a generally horizontal freezing position and a generally vertical dumping position. The mold is arranged to utilize the forces of expansion of the ice body during the freezing thereof to free itself from the mold and permit delivery of the ice bodies from the mold by the simple expedient of positioning the mold in the vertical position. The present invention is concerned with such an ice body maker and comprehends a number of structural modifications thereof providing further additional desirable features.

Thus, a principal feature of the present invention is the provision of an improved ice body maker.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of such an ice body maker having an improved mold construction providing facilitated ice body removal.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an ice body maker including new and improved means for controlling the freezing of water in a mold member of the ice body maker.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of such an ice body maker arranged to prevent undesirable ice connections between the individual ice bodies formed in the mold, thereby permitting each ice body to become free of the mold independently of the others.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of such an ice body maker having an improved readily removable mold construction.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical section of a refrigerator provided with an ice body maker embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a transverse vertical section taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section taken substantially along the line 44 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a transverse vertical section taken substantially along the line dd of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 is a transverse section generally similar to that of FIGURE 6 but illustrating the arrangement of the mold in an inclined reset position.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the line 8-3 of FIGURE 2 and illustrating an improved mold connecting means.

FIGURE 9 is a transverse section taken substantially along the line 9-9 of FIGURE 8.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the drawings, an ice body maker generally designated 113 is shown installed in a refrigerator 11 having a front wall 12 and a rear wall 13 defining therebetween a space 14 refrigerated by means of cold air delivered thereto through a suitable inlet 15. Inlet 15 is arranged to di- 3,Zdfl,6l2 Patented Aug. 17, 1965 Ice rect the cold air downwardly onto a mold 16 in the space 14 to form ice bodies 17 in the mold. The mold is preferably formed of an insulating material, such as a plastic, and the cavities 15 thereof are arranged to permit freezing of the ice bodies downwardly therein. This functioning is brought out in more specific detail later in the specification.

A control generally designated 19, generally similar to the control of said application Serial No. 45,750, is provided rearwardly of wall 13 and includes a shaft 20 extending through the wall and having an inner end 21 carrying the mold It; for selective positioning in a number of positions displaced angularly about the horizontal axis of the shaft. Illustratively, the mold is disposed by the control in a substantially horizontal freezing position, as shown in FIGURE 1, an inclined quick changeover position, not shown, an inclined reset position, as shown in FIGURE 7, and a vertical dumping position, as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1. Control 19 is generally similar to the control disclosed in said copending application Serial No. 45,750 and reference may be had thereto for a full disclosure of the structure thereof.

The completion of the freezing of the ice bodies 17 is sensed by a suitable temperature sensing device 22 extending to adjacent one mold cavity 18a at the end 21 of the shaft 2d, causing control 19 automatically to turn the mold It; from the horizontal freezing position of FIG- URE 1 to the dumping position wherein the ice bodies fall from the mold into a suitable collecting bin 23 disposed in space 14 subjacent the mold. The control is arranged to cause the mold then to pivot in reverse direction to the quick change-over position, then back to the reset position of FIGURE 7, and subsequently to the horizontal freezing position of FIGURE 1.

Referring now more specifically to FIGURES 2 through 5, mold 16 comprises a thin Walled member including a peripheral upper rim 25 from which depends a skirt 26. A transverse wall 27 extends inwardly from rim 25 below the upper edge thereof and is provided with a plurality of generally conical downwardly pointed portions 28 delining the mold cavities 18, herein seven such cavities are provided. As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 4, the cavities 18b, 18c, 18d and 18s of the right-hand row are interconnected by suitable channels 29, defined respectively by a weir 39 between cavities 18b and Weir 31 between cavities 18c and 13d and weir 32 between cavities 18d and 1342. Weir 31 is slightly lower than weir 3t) and weir 32 is slightly lower than weir 31. Thus, water may be delivered to cavity 1312 from a suitable duct 33 associated with control 19 and, after cavity 18b is substantially filled, may flow through channel 29 over weir 311 into cavity 180. Similarly, when cavity 180 is filled, water overflows therefrom through channel 29 defined by weir 31 into cavity 18d; and similarly when cavity 13d is filled, water fiows therefrom over weir 32 into cavity 18s. The delivery of water from duct 33 is effected by control 19 with the mold in the inclined reset position of FIGURE 7. Thus, When cavity 18:; is substantially filled, the water may then fiow over a Weir 3d (FIGURE 3) into the forward cavity 18 of the left-hand row of cavities. The left-hand row of cavities comprising forward cavity 18 middle cavity 18g and rear cavity 18a are connected by channels 35 defined by a weir 36 between cavities 18] and 18g and a weir 37 between cavities 18g and 18a. As best seen in FIGURE 5, weirs 3d and 37 terminate upwardly in a common, downwardly inclined plane. Thus, when cavity 18 becomes substantially filled, Water flows therefrom over weir 36 into cavity 18g and when cavity 18g becomes substantially filled water flows therefrom over weir 37 into cavity 18a. Control 19 includes a conventional slug water valve 38 which delivers an accurate quantity of water to the mold so that each of the cavities will thusly be accurately filled.

Upon completion of the filling operation, control 19 effects a pivoting of the mold about the axis of the shaft 20 to the horizontal freezing position of FIGURE 6. In

'so pivoting the mold, the weirs 38, 31, 32 and 34 are raised relative to the level of water in each of the cavities 18b, 18c, 18d and 18e, thereby effectively separating the water in each cavity from the water in the other cavities and preventing the formation of ice connections in the channels 29 therebetween. Additionally, the Water level in each. cavity is lowered to below the weirs by virtue of the increased capacity thereof below the weirs when the mold is so pivoted. Thus, when the control 19 I- tates the mold to the vertical dumping position the ice bodies freely fall from the cavities 18 into the bin 23.

Referring now more specifically to FIGURES 8 and 9, the mold 16 may be seen to be connected to the end 21 of shaft 28 by a readily disconnectable securing device generally designated 39. More specifically,device 39 includes a spring clip 40 received in a downwardly opening groove 41 in shaft end 21 which shaft end, as shown in FIGURE 9, is of non-uniform cross section. In the embodiment shown, the lower portion 46 is of hexagonal cross section while the upper portion 47 has a curved convex cross sectional configuration to preclude improper assembly with the socket 42, the latter having a corresponding cross section to that of the shaft end 21. As shown in FIGURE 8, shaft end 21 further tapers forwardly and is received in socket 42 in mold 16 for locking the mold to the shaft. Clip 40 includes a downwardly projecting mid-portion 43 which engages the bottom wall surface of socket 42, and an upturned rear end portion 44 received in a recess 45 extending from groove 41 toward the axis of the shaft whereby the clip is etfectively retained in the groove and frictionally engages the socket wall surface to retainthe mold readily releasable on the shaft end 21. However, when it is desired to remove mold 16, such as to gain more freezer storage space, or as for substitution thereof by another mold having a diflferent cavity configuration, the mold may be readily removed from the shaft end by simply urging it forwardly therefrom to clear the tip of the shaft end 21. The installation'of the mold on the shaft end21 is efiected by a simple reverse operation whereintthe mold is moved rearwardly to cause shaft end 21 to be received in socket 4,2 with spring clip 39 providing frictional retention of the mold against axial displacement.

It will be observed in the drawing, notably FIGURES 2, 6 and 7 thereof, that the sensing device 22 is located adjacent the Wall of cavity 18a and is laterally displaced from the vertical axis of the cavity. Because freezing occurs from top to bottom, it is desirable to sense the temperature at a point near the bottom of the cavity, al'

though, as will now be discussed,the sensing point must be somewhat above the tip portion of the cavity. The sensing element has a certain amount of mass and hence is able to retain its cold condition for a period of. time after the ice body has been removed from the cavity. Thus upon the addition of a new charge of water to the cavity, the cold mass of the sensing element withdraws heat from the water and causes freezing of water to occur in this area. If the sensing point were located at the tip portion of the cavity and in line with the vertical axis of the cavity, the amount of ice formed at the tip could in some instances ,be sufficient to prevent. the incremental freezing described above frornbeingtotally effective and thereby interfere with the release of the resulting ice body from the mold cavity. However, by locating the sensing device 22 adjacent the side wall and laterally spaced from the tip, portion of the cavity, the premature ice formed in the area of the sensing device will be sheared loose from the side wall of the cavity by the upward forces imparted to it by the freezing of that body'of water which lies below the sensing point. 7

Thus, the invention comprehends an arrangement of the sensingdevice relative to the cavity walls wherein malfunction caused by a failure of the ice body to release itself from the mold is effectively precluded.

Having described my invention asrelated to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing, it is my intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claim.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed is defined as follows:

Ari ice body maker, comprising: a mold defining a series of more than two horizontally spaced, successively arranged cavities for holding water to be frozen, said mold being shiftable between first and second water retaining positions and having successive upper portions between said successive cavities; passage means each with an overfiow weir in said upper portions between each pair of successively adjacent cavities, said weirs having their tops at successively lower levelsin said series from a first cavity to a last cavity to cause water introduced into said first cavity to overflow the successive weirs into successive cavities from said first cavity to said last cavity, the water level in each cavity prior to said last cavity substantially coinciding with the top of its said successive weir when the mold is in said first position and said Water level being beneath its said successive Weir when said mold is in said scond position; means for arranging said mold in said first position; means for thereafter introducing water into said first cavity for said weir overflow into said successive cavities; and means for moving said mold to said second position preparatOryto-freezing said water, said cavities being arrangedin adjacent'rows each containing a plurality of cavities.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES'PATENTS Clum 62-437 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner. 

